The first addition is unfermented juice, known as must, from viognier grapes that have been infected with a benevolent fungus called botrytis. This noble rot reduces the water content in the grapes while magnifying their sweetness and complexity. The second is pinot gris must intensified by a process called dropping fruit, where large clusters of grapes are clipped to amplify the quality of those left behind.

Noble Rot is brewed with pils and wheat malts and fermented with a distinct Belgian yeast strain. It has a spicy white wine body and a dry, tart finish.

Noble Rot pours a hazish golden color with a nice larger lacing head. There is a musty wine, grape aroma. The taste has a musty wine/grape flavor, with a slightly tart but crisp aroma flavor. Nice body good flavors. Overall its not too different from their 61 min. IPA, bigger must grape flavors.

Pours a clear straw colored with an off white head. Lacing is minimal. Aroma is estery and random hints of watermelon?? Taste is also estery and grainy with hints of lemongrass. There's a slight spiciness to this one, but it is very minimal. Tastes like a sparkling white wine. The feel is light/medium bodied with a high carbonation. The finish is dry. Overall, the beer tasted like it matured well. It's a solid example of the style but strong in aspects I'm not a fan of and weak in aspects I would have preferred more of.

I made Norther Brewers home brew, "Saison Du Vin" and it is now 1 year old. Compared to this home brew, the Dogfish's Noble Rot was sweeter. The ROH content for me is a little high as I enjoy the session component of a beer. I also watered it down w carbonated water & it was still great. The noble rot element, is very subtle when compared to a non rotted grape extract.... Still an excellent sipper.. I was surprised it did not blow past my home brew.... My home brew is better than I expected! Anyone know what yeast Dogfish used? I used belle saison....

Nice very nice
Great beer.
Lots of bubbles and a fluffy white head like sparkling wine or champagne. .
Taste is very winey like if for example. . beer and champaign had sex . This would be the love child.
Was very similar to goose island Sofie.. but not a elegant.
Over all i very much enjoyed every sip..
This would be the baby. .

Poured from 750-ml bottle into wine glass. This self-described "sorta-saison" pours a light coppery color with a slight purplish tinge, with a brilliant white head that dissipates rather quickly. Aroma presents elements of both beer and wine, with some light malts, yeasts, and green apple. These elements are prominent on the palate as well. Finishes dry and crisp, with some lingering tart cider notes. Unique concept, very well executed.

The body is a clear straw yellow showing tons of bubbles and a fluffy white head. Smell is sharp wine on the nose which certainly makes sense for the theme - lots of sour apple. The flavors are dry and tart like a spicy white wine, no surprises, but a certain pleasant sweetness opens as the beer warms. An interesting experiment that I'm glad I tried, but wouldn't go out of my way to get this again.

Fresh, dry, musty pinot gris nose; very nice pure-yellow pils colors; extremely clean, clarion-tart sweetness, ultimately mild yet concentrated and piquant. A very tasty, refreshing experiment, with a hint of wildness but a very hemmed-in—almost, dare I say, "normal"—amount of experimentation. Good reverence for dry, bright whites—never thick enough to feel like a wit—ensconced in the flesh of a pale pils.

"We brew this unique, sorta-saison with a little help from our friends at Alexandria Nicole Cellars using botrytis-infected Viognier grape must. This "noble rot" magnifies its complexity and long finish." Brewed in the style of a Saison with grape must added. Available in 750 ml. bottles and on seasonal draft.

Poured from a 750 ml. bottle to a Dogfish Head signature glass. Served above 56 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a crisp, fizzy ecru white head over a pale straw amber body with ample, lively carbonation and high clarity. Retention is poor and there is no visible lacing. 2.5

(Smell) Aromas of fermented white grape juices, cracker malt, a touch of peppery spice and a moderate acidity. Some delicate sweetness from the malt and fruit profiles combined although the overall aroma is fairly dry. Potency is moderate. 3.75

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, residual, silky and medium dry. Carbonation is high, generating a moderate frothiness and a full crisp finish. Body is shy of medium for the style, medium overall. Balance is moderately sweet over dry and acidic. Alcohol presence is light and there are no off characters. 3.5

(Overall) I was hoping that the use of grape must would not be singled out in this beer, but unfortunately Noble Rot suffers from a considerable limitation on flavor profile. The grape must generates a full juicy white grape profile with little accenting from the malt body nor from the yeast character, which is very mild for a saison, creating little to no perceived spiciness, barnyard or funk character. Arguably a halfway decent crossover beer to and from wine, notably for the very limited crowd who favors sweet dessert wines with little to no fermented character nor acidity. I found that Dogfish Head did a better job of utilizing grape must in their Sixty-One Ale. 3.5

This is very good. Sweet, tart and refreshing. My only gripe is that maybe it is just a tad bit to sweet, but at the same time I expect it would taste great on a really hot summer day. Almost tastes like champagne more than beer

I had this a while ago but still had my notes and never put it in here.
Appearance- pale yellow color, thick foamy head, very nice lacing
Smell- citrus fruit(lemon), wheat
Taste- white grape, lemon, wheat
Mouthfeel- medium bodied
Drinkability- I thought it was very good. I loved it.

unique brew the closest wine/beer cross over i have found.
This would be a great one to get your wine friends to try or to share a beer with the wife that doesn't drink beer.
Well paired with food, wouldnt want more than one pour with out pairing,, sips well.

Poured from a 750mL at Cloverleaf in West Caldwell, NJ, into a snifter. Very interesting beer that developed complexity with each sip. I bought a second bottle at a good shop and was able to cook with it, making a french-style butter sauce with the beer. I paired the meal with the beer. Very nice and interesting beer. I will get it again, I think.

The beer pours a nice white and foamy head that dissipates quickly but looks nice if kept alive by a glass with a nucleation point. The beer itself is a clear pale gold bordering on a golden straw.

The beer smell is absolutely wonderful. The smell has both the qualities of a saison and a white wine (pinot gris and viognier). The saison smell comes from a nice bitter hop smell and earthy wheat smell. The wine grapes add a nice fruit and tartness to the smell. Instead of working against each other, the smells combine quite nicely to give off a tart and sweet smelling saison.

The beer taste is also pretty good. Even though the beer has the same notes as the smell, the tartness from the grapes seem to be pretty strong. However, it complements the hop and wheat rather than overwhelming it. The taste also has a slight alcohol note.

The mouthfeel is decent. The main issue is that it feel heavier than a saison should be and the experience suffers a little. The beer has very little carbonation to it but enough to give it a little texture. The beer seems to be somewhere between a wine and a beer. Too smooth and heavy for a beer but too much carbonation to be a wine.

Overall, a fairly good offering and a nice saison for the colder warm days.

Bottle dated December 2013 (!) so more than a year old. Poured into pint glass. Straw color, with a fine white head. Moderate carbonation. Interesting blend of wine and beer. Reminds me of champagne in some respects, but with a lot of other stuff going on. I'm not a big fan of Belgian style beers, so my review probably reflects my own personal preferences. Light and refreshing. Quite dry.

L-Light straw yellow, clear, 1/2 inch head little retention yields to a slim whitecap, some noticeable carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass

S-White grapes are noticeable immediately along with some saison yeasty funk, some sour tartness, mild lemon notes, shares similar characteristics with white wine

T-Somewhat follows the nose with a bit of a refreshing punch that is not revealed in the nose.......taste is better than the aroma.........taste has some champagne like qualities, sweet tartness some yeasty esters, grape and lemon

M-Lots of crisp carbonation, light, dry, very refreshing

O-refreshing crisp beer that has a balance of tartness from the grapes and funk from the yeast.......both sweet and sour at times.......probably the perfect sunday brunch beer